2020 CHL Import Draft

[themelkman]

But you know that with the Hunters, you are in good hands... Cant find a better school...

I agree, just hoping their work holds up with Merkley!

 

[wein]

Does anyone know about Maxim Barbashev chosen by Moncton?

His brother is Ivan Barbashev.

 

[passive voice]

nobody swung on Tammela eh?

 

[Speyer]

Does anyone know anything about Halifax’s pick, Attilio Biasca?

Havent seen him a whole lot but I always liked what I saw when I did. He is a high octane player that never takes off a shift and is also very consistent on a day to day basis as his scoring was very spread out over the last year with the Zug junior team. He reminds my a lot of Kurashev with a worse shot but he seems to be much more consistant than his countryman. He is a very good skater and has excellent hands and puck protection. Offensively he can both score goals and shoot and dish the puck even though he has to work on his shot power. He is a super underated prospect who has increased his standing tremendously in Switzerland over the last two years. Most people believe Lorenzo Canonica (who got taken by Shawinigan) is the best swiss 03 forward but I believe Biasca is just as promising if not more. I wouldnt expect a prospect who is quite on the Hischier/Meier/Ehlers level but I believe he can be a line driver and first line winger for Halifax eventually. I also think his playing style and already solid frame should make the translation to NA relatively easy.

 

[EnglishJet]

Havent seen him a whole lot but I always liked what I saw when I did. He is a high octane player that never takes off a shift and is also very consistent on a day to day basis as his scoring was very spread out over the last year with the Zug junior team. He reminds my a lot of Kurashev with a worse shot but he seems to be much more consistant than his countryman. He is a very good skater and has excellent hands and puck protection. Offensively he can both score goals and shoot and dish the puck even though he has to work on his shot power. He is a super underated prospect who has increased his standing tremendously in Switzerland over the last two years. Most people believe Lorenzo Canonica (who got taken by Shawinigan) is the best swiss 03 forward but I believe Biasca is just as promising if not more. I wouldnt expect a prospect who is quite on the Hischier/Meier/Ehlers level but I believe he can be a line driver and first line winger for Halifax eventually. I also think his playing style and already solid frame should make the translation to NA relatively easy.

Thank you for this reply, that's so detailed. I really appreciate that. I've seen him be referred to as a winger and as a centre, where do you see him playing moving forward?

 

[Speyer]

Thank you for this reply, that's so detailed. I really appreciate that. I've seen him be referred to as a winger and as a centre, where do you see him playing moving forward?

The games that I have seen of him were mostly as a winger in an offensive role. From what I remember he didnt stuck out negativley as far as his two way game goes but he was mostly relied on to generate offense and therefore he hasnt had much defensive responsibilities. I do know for a fact hower, that he played mostly as a center for the latter half of last season. At this point I cant really answer your question because its much easier to play C in the Swiss junior leages than it is in the CHL. I guess we will just have to wait and see if he decides to report (wich I belive he will, otherwise Halifax wouldnt have blown their pick on him).

 

[Number 57]

Looking at the Q picks, a ton of 2003. Looks like most teams are rebuilding their european slots in order to compete in 2 years

Moncton takes a 19 years old goalie in a rebuilding year... go figure

I'm having doubts Svechkov would report to Saint John. He wouldnt get much ice time they are way too deep.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Looking at the Q picks, a ton of 2003. Looks like most teams are rebuilding their european slots in order to compete in 2 years

Moncton takes a 19 years old goalie in a rebuilding year... go figure

I'm having doubts Svechkov would report to Saint John. He wouldnt get much ice time they are way too deep.

What do you think of Bathurst taking Bednar. Highly touted goalie who had a bad year.

 

[Ovechkin962]

Out of all the 2021 draft eligible drafted today and excluding the unrealistic guys who probably won't report (Lysell, Tuomaala, Chibrikov), who do you guys think will have the biggest impact next season in the CHL and be a first/second rounder?

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Out of all the 2021 draft eligible drafted today and excluding the unrealistic guys who probably won't report (Lysell, Tuomaala, Chibrikov), who do you guys think will have the biggest impact next season in the CHL and be a first/second rounder?

I want Tuomaala to report to Sudbury so bad as they have a nice young forward group (even if Byfield moves on). If Byfield somehow gets sent back they could be such an exciting duo to watch. I’ve heard Tuomaalas agent will try to get him to come over, and maybe someone like Luukonen would help with that?

 

[Ovechkin962]

I want Tuomaala to report to Sudbury so bad as they have a nice young forward group (even if Byfield moves on). If Byfield somehow gets sent back they could be such an exciting duo to watch. I’ve heard Tuomaalas agent will try to get him to come over, and maybe someone like Luukonen would help with that?

Tuomaala on Byfield's wing would be deadly. I could see him score upward of 40 goals.

 

[wein]

Looking at the Q picks, a ton of 2003. Looks like most teams are rebuilding their european slots in order to compete in 2 years

Moncton takes a 19 years old goalie in a rebuilding year... go figure

I'm having doubts Svechkov would report to Saint John. He wouldnt get much ice time they are way too deep.

Well Moncton should have a high pick next year so they took a stop gap guy at the 65th pick (110 without the passes) that will be able to actually help them in the short-term unlike most non-elite 17 year old Euros. I’m actually surprised that both choices weren’t older players. It’s not like they own their own 1st next year so no real benefit to bottoming out completely.

I think the Barbashev pick was a lot to do with his brother, but we’ll see how he turns out.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

No one taking a gamble on Aatu Raty?

Aatu Räty's chances to even report to CHL was 0% already before 2020 import draft.
Räty is getting TOP9 role in Oulun Kärpät SM liiga team this coming season ( 2020-2021 ).

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

nobody swung on Tammela eh?

If you mean Jeremi Tammela he signed with Rauman Lukko.
His older brother Jonne plays in Lukko so Jeremi decided to join with his brother.

 

[Killerjas]

Grewe going to Saginaw. Great pick and so happy he leaves the SHL after watching his playstyle which does not fit that league at ALL.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Finns Viljami Marjala and Aapo Siivonen both confirmed they will play in Quebec.

 

[Bjindaho]

Looking at the Q picks, a ton of 2003. Looks like most teams are rebuilding their european slots in order to compete in 2 years

Moncton takes a 19 years old goalie in a rebuilding year... go figure

I'm having doubts Svechkov would report to Saint John. He wouldnt get much ice time they are way too deep.

He'd likely play 1st line in Saint John with Roy/Reynolds and either Burns or MacDonald

 

[SergeConstantin74]

He'd likely play 1st line in Saint John with Roy/Reynolds and either Burns or MacDonald

True. Saint John has a lot of depth but Svechkov is probably good enough to play on their top 6.

 

[S E P H]

Interesting to see how due to the virus, Swedes were pretty much non-existent and teams decided to go after Belarusians in droves.

Surprised by the lack of Germans, maybe the CHL teams know something that we don't and that a lot of those players are deciding to stay in Europe as well?

In other news, those Suisse prospects look really good.

 

[Ovechkin962]

Surprised by the lack of Germans, maybe the CHL teams know something that we don't and that a lot of those players are deciding to stay in Europe as well?

I think it has to do with the fact that DEL teams play young guys more than they used to. Just look at Seider, Reichel, Stutzle and Peterka, I don't think we will see another Draisaitl coming to the CHL.

 

[pgfan66]

Surprised by the lack of Germans, maybe the CHL teams know something that we don't and that a lot of those players are deciding to stay in Europe as well?

I think it has to do with the fact that DEL teams play young guys more than they used to. Just look at Seider, Reichel, Stutzle and Peterka, I don't think we will see another Draisaitl coming to the CHL.

I actually just think there weren't any good ones available this season. The 02s are the best draft class Germany has ever had – with Stutzle, Reichel, Peterka – but the 03s are quite weak. The only one that maybe could've been interesting is Haakon Hanelt but even he isn't great. As to 02s that weren't picked yet, I thought Glotzl would have a chance but he already could've gone to the CHL last year if he wanted to. He signed with Cologne, didn't play there, and probably wants to try again next season.

And when you look at past German imports, most of the ones that weren't top prospects also didn't have great years (Alberg, Valenti, Fleischer, Eckl for example) and some didn't even stick for a full season (Reisnecker, Kohler). So I could see why nobody picked any of the "average" 03s.

 

[Ovechkin962]

I actually just think there weren't any good ones available this season. The 02s are the best draft class Germany has ever had – with Stutzle, Reichel, Peterka – but the 03s are quite weak. The only one that maybe could've been interesting is Haakon Hanelt but even he isn't great. As to 02s that weren't picked yet, I thought Glotzl would have a chance but he already could've gone to the CHL last year if he wanted to. He signed with Cologne, didn't play there, and probably wants to try again next season.

And when you look at past German imports, most of the ones that weren't top prospects also didn't have great years (Alberg, Valenti, Fleischer, Eckl for example) and some didn't even stick for a full season (Reisnecker, Kohler). So I could see why nobody picked any of the "average" 03s.

What are your thoughts on Bennet Rossmy? Came across his name while looking at some Czech prospects.

 

[pgfan66]

What are your thoughts on Bennet Rossmy? Came across his name while looking at some Czech prospects.

I haven’t really seen him play, sorry. I did catch one game in the Czech U20 league this season and he didn’t stand out much.

 

[wetcoast]

Interesting to see how due to the virus, Swedes were pretty much non-existent and teams decided to go after Belarusians in droves.

Surprised by the lack of Germans, maybe the CHL teams know something that we don't and that a lot of those players are deciding to stay in Europe as well?

In other news, those Suisse prospects look really good.

I was surprised that the Giants took Lysell as it's extremely unlikely that he comes over and I don't know very much about Marko Stacha except that he looked decent at the Hlinka and has a pro body.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

True. Saint John has a lot of depth but Svechkov is probably good enough to play on their top 6.

He will probably need to play on the RW (he was listed as a LW on the Import site) but he will have a huge incentive to come in. Saint John are heavy favour ites not only in the QMJHL, but the CHL, and will have a ton of scouts flocking to games to see Cam MacDonald, Peter Reynolds and Joshua Roy (for those who are not following the 2021 NHL draft yet, all three are highly touted and it would not be surprising to see all three of them end up in the top 50). He'll have a much tougher time generating anywhere near that kind of buzz in the Togliatti system.

I was surprised that the Giants took Lysell as it's extremely unlikely that he comes over and I don't know very much about Marko Stacha except that he looked decent at the Hlinka and has a pro body.

Stacha was one of the top 3 most valuable players for Slovakia at the U20's as a 17 year old. Looked better than Knazko when he played. Honestly, he would have benefitted from playing in the CHL this year just like Chromiak did (and boosted his stock a lot as a result), but was not drafted. The mens league in Slovakia is just not good enough for guys to stand out even though Stacha played a full time role and did pretty well.

He is signed on for Dukla Trencin next year, but I would not be surprised to see him come over to North America at some point, especially if he is drafted by an NHL team (and I personally feel like there is a good chance of that happening). Coming over to the WHL for a couple of years will probably be much better for his development than staying in Slovakia. Just ask Chromiak. He was a top prospect before the 2019-2020 season because he dominated in the Slovakian U20 league, and decided to stay home to play for Dukla Trencin himself. He did not stand out enough and kind of fell to being a mid-round prospect before he decided to come over to Kingston mid-season and (partially due to playing with the next McDavid in Shane Wright), worked his way back into 1st round consideration. Stacha can be one of the better defensemen on Vancouver but still play for a pretty decent team.

Lysell is a harder sell, especially in the pandemic climate. Frolunda is a great program and he will get a ton of exposure, even if he does not play pro. However, unlike many of the top Swedes in the past (including in 2020), he did not have many opportunities to play in a top role as a D-1. Raymond, Nybeck, Holtz, etc. were already dominating the U20 league at 17 and even got some pro exposure. Holtz and Raymond were full time pros at 18, while Nybeck was given a fair amount of opportunities in the SHL but mostly just continued to dominate the U20 league. Even Isak Rosen, the other top Swedish forward in 2021, had a solid full year in the U20 league this year. Lysell is a few steps behind that. Whether it was because he was not good enough or Frolunda was just stacked, he may not be able to stand out as much as he wanted to in Sweden. If that is the case, and he feels like he needs a change to boost his stock, he may decide in December or January to come over to Vancouver much like Chromiak decided with Kingston. A number of prospects may decide to come mid-season once they know Covid is more contained.